Batman: Return of The Madness
by Broly555
Summary: Takes place three years after the events of Dark Knight Rises. Bruce Wayne lives a quiet life in London, until a new villain emerges and forces Batman back into the world. How does Alice Liddell fit in? What about Wonderland? Read to find out. Rated T for teen mostly due to violence.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This fan fiction is a crossover between the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman trilogy and Alice: Madness Returns. The story is set three years after the events of Dark Knight Rises, and 140 years after Alice: Madness Returns. I do not own anything relating to the ideas and content of Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises, or Alice: Madness Returns. This is strictly a fan-made story.

Chapter 1

Moon light trickled down the Victorian architecture of the multi-story buildings of London. Men and women of all ages traveled the streets; Middle-aged men, dressed in suits and ties, wrapped an arm around slightly younger women, who were decked out in collared shirts and knee-length skirts, talking to each other in quiet voices. Teenagers, dressed in popular designer labels, sat on the steps leading into the apartments, the latest video game and who they were dating filling their discussion topics. On this particular night, a beautiful girl strolled down the streets, looking off to her sides now and then, seemingly tagging everyone she saw with her eyes.

_London has changed so much_ thought the girl, whose thin muscles covered her five foot, eight inch frame. Her black hair running down to her shoulders, the girl wore a black and white striped long-sleeved shirt, a black skirt that went past her knees, and a white apron with a checkered patter on the front covering the dress. Her legs were covered by long black stockings, and her black shoes bore buckles instead of laces. As the girl rounded the corner onto Oxford Street, she came upon the fort-like structure of Dudley's Homeless Home. Her silver eyes falling on the white-stoned building, she noticed a man, dressed in the black clothes of a priest, chatting up a storm with a small group of teenagers who looked like the belonged in Dudley's; ragged hair, plain t-shirts with jagged edges, pants with holes in the pocket or other odd places on the leg somewhere, worn-out shoes. Despite the material things they lacked, nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of youth coming from the body language and faces of these young boys and girls. The older girl watching this entire incident let out a small smile as the priest started handing out little orange and brown Gideon bibles.

"What a kind old man he is; it seems that things have gotten better around London lately. No more perverts running around the streets, and no more old cronies like Nurse Whitless," said the girl.

"Would you like a card, little boy?" said the priest in a suddenly audible voice. Turning around, the girl saw something hanging around the boy's neck. Upon further inspection from afar, she could make out a card with the number _15_ around his neck. The girl's eyes widened in horror as voices started speaking in her head, her past itching to be remembered.

_Forget it! Abandon that memory. It's unproductive. Go to Wonderland…_ said an older male voice, filled with authority.

_I can't! I'm trapped in my past! _Said the girl's voice as panic set in.

_ No Alice! Discard that illusion. Forget it. Go to wonderland._

_ I'd rather not doctor. My wonderland's shattered; it's dead to me!_

_ Your preference doesn't signify, girl. Now, Alice, where are you?_

_ I'm sailing, with a friend. Hmm, it's different somehow. Things have changed._

_ Change is good. It's the first link in the chain of forgetting._

_ I want to forget! Who would choose to be alone, imprisoned by their broken memories?_

_ I'll set you free, Alice. Memory is a curse more often than a blessing._

Giving her head a shake and covering her eyes with her slender hands, Alice took down her hands and looked back towards the priest and teenagers, who were no longer there. Where the priest had been, a tall, brown-haired man with a full beard and fancy suit could be seen holding multiple tags with numbers on them.

"Yield control, Alice," said the man as he looked over towards Alice, his eyes penetrating through the imaginary layers of protection around Alice's body.

"You can't be doctor Bumby," muttered Alice to herself, her heart pounding furiously as she took a step back, eyes fixated on the doctor, "I watched him die all those years ago."

"You should listen to him," squeaked the voice of a small female child. As Alice looked down in front of her, a nine-year-old girl in long Barney pajamas stood a couple feet away. Her face was etched into a permanent smile, the corners of her mouth stitched into an upward position. Her eyelids stapled open, the girl's forehead was stitched shut, like someone had cut it open.

"You shouldn't exist! I defeated Dr. Bumby and destroyed the doll maker's world back then; you can't be real!" screeched Alice, her eyes widening wider and wider as her eyes turned from silver to green. Several Dollgirls, each one eight feet in height, a hook for a right hand and the left hand carrying a giant scissor blade, started popping up behind the little girl. Their pigtails jiggling, each Dollgirl let out a blood-curling scream. As Alice turned to run back where she came from, her surroundings began to transform around her eyes. Giant mushrooms with white stems and red tops popped out of the ground; stones with tree roots wrapped around them formed on the walls of the buildings. Flowers of all shapes and colors laid scattered all over the ground, and large white dice the size of a television set could be seen at random spots all over the place. Trees with leaves of the different autumn colors towered over the towering buildings of London.

…

The next morning, a tall man, about six feet and two inches, strolled through the large restaurant patio just off of Adrian Street, a restaurant surrounded by shoe and clothing departments. Wearing a three-button black business suit and silver tie, the man's black eyes scanned the crowd outside, his right hand running through his black buzz-cut hair, his ears picking up the different conversations going around the patio from the customers.

"This is the best Lasagna I've ever had!"

"This is so good! I've just got to try making this stuff at home next week!"

"Have you tried this bread? It's the best I've ever had; we should have bread at home!"

"God, this pizza is absolutely incredible! We have to come back next week!"

"Italian soda; what a luxury!"

The man in the suit let a small smirk cover his face as he entered through the door and into the main part of the place. Dim lights all over the ceiling reflected off the walls as the man looked around, watching as customers ate at the hundred tables and booths set up around the place. Right as the man was about to walk forward, the yell of an older man could be heard from the left side of the restaurant. Sliding between the tables, the man found himself behind a waiter, who judging from the food and broken plates on the floor had a miscommunication with the middle-aged, slightly balding man dressed in a light purple collared shirt and tan slacks.

"I'm so sorry, sir," apologized the waiter, a young man in his late twenties as far as the man in the suit could tell. Placing a hand on his shoulder, the waiter turned around, and his eyes widened in surprise at the presence of the man.

"What seems to be the problem, Nick?" asked the man gently.

"I accidentally dropped the man's pasta and soup special when I went to hand him the food," said Nick, his voice shaky as his nerves flared up.

"Don't worry about it; you just go get the stuff you need to clean this up," said the man as he gave Nick a pat on the shoulder, Nick moving fast as the man turned his attention to the balding customer, "So, I take it you ordered our special of the week?"

"Yeah, I was really looking forward to it too until your waiter spilled it all over the floor," said the man sitting in a booth by himself, the sun shining through the glass windows and onto the brown marble tables.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get you another one, and it'll be on the house because of this."

"Thank you, sir. By the way, I didn't catch your name," said the man as he extended a hand towards the man in the suit.

"It's Jack Payne. I own the place," said Jack with a smile as he turned to head to the kitchen, the man's jaw falling in wonder…

Once he closed the tainted glass door to his office at the back of the Restaurant, Jack slid into the black leather swivel chair behind the brown desk, the top of which was covered in paperwork of all kinds, as well as letters and advertisement ideas from the ad department. Throwing back his arms in a yawn, Jack leaned back in his chair, swiveling towards the window as he pondered over the stories that he heard from some customers during the last two hours.

_ Did you see that girl walking the streets last night? I'm starting to feel sorry for her every time I see her walking by in that black dress of hers._

_ I wouldn't feel too sorry for her; I feel bad for all the hoodlums I've seen over the years that have tried to harass her or harm her. Some end up hospitalized and others end up dead. _

_ I don't know what you're talking about; that girl is so friendly to animals every time I've seen her, especially cats! She really goes for those cats a lot._

_ I saw her go by Dudley's last night, and she just turned and ran from the place! I don't know what could have freaked her out so bad._

"It's none of your concern," muttered Jack to himself, "They're just stories."

Swiveling his chair back towards his desk, Jack started rifling through the papers on his desk, trying to forget what he heard by making himself busy.

…..

As the last employee made his way out the door to head on home, Jack followed him out and locked the doors using his keys. After making sure the door was locked with a sharp tug on the handle, Jack put his hands in his pocket and started walking down Adrian Street. After walking down a few blocks, Jack came upon Fulton Park, a lovely 10 acre patch of green grass, Oak trees, and wooden benches where the mother's sat to watch over their children. Of course, no mothers or children were present on this night; the sundown closure time made sure of that. As Jack neared the end of the park, a group of men could be seen gathered in a circle, newspapers in hand and voices talking rapidly:

"It seems that Gotham City is finally starting to get over the events of three years ago."

"Yeah, I'm so glad that terrorist Bane got what he had coming to him."

"Whatever happened to that Batman guy? I used to read about him all the time in the paper."

"I heard that he died in the events of three years ago; they erected a statue of him to honor his memory and everything."

"I also heard that Gotham had a new guy protecting their city."

"He's no Batman though. The world needs Batman."

"You people are crazy! Batman never existed; he's as real as the easter bunny or Santa Clause."

"I wish he did; someone has to do something about the crime going on here in London. Our Mayor and police force has been very ineffective for a long time."

As Jack walked past them and took a right onto Safe Haven, the sound of a girl's scream reched his ears. Racing to a nearby ally, Jack slinked into the shadows, watching in horror as a gang of hoodlums surrounded a girl. Looking closer, Jack noticed the girl was wearing a black dress with a black and white striped long-sleeved shirt underneath. A cat stood between her legs, hissing at the hoodlums who threatened the girl above him.

"Well well, what do we have here?" taunted one of the hoodlums, a young man with a face covered by black paint, his body covered by blue denim jeans and a black denim jacket with the sleeves cut off.

"Get away from me, you brute!" squealed Alice as she placed her hands against the cement wall behind her.

"You don't tell me what to do, you whore!" raged the hoodlum as he slapped Alice in the face, knocking her to the ground. Jack felt his anger boil and was tempted to jump into the fray, but Alice suddenly rose up, her eyes bearing into the hoodlum's.

_What's going on? _Wondered Jack as he continued to watch from the shadows. Alice blinked once, and when her eyes opened up, they had changed from silver to green. Grabbing the hoodlum's head with one hand, Alice slammed his face into the ground with tremendous force. As the hoodlum struggled to get up, blood dripping from his face, Alice continued to stare him down.

"Kill her! Get the dumb broad!" screamed the hoodlum as the rest of his buddies surrounded Alice. As she looked around the circle of hoodlums, the one she punch took a swipe at her ankles with a knife that he produced from his pocket. Alice jumped over his sweeping arm, landed on her feet and kicked him right in the shin, knocking the man out cold as blood continued to drip from his face and onto the ground. The remaining six guys charged Alice. Alice grabbed the incoming arm of the first one and twisted it at an unnatural angle, causing the man to fall to the ground screaming violently, clutching his broken arm. The second man threw several punches at Alice, but the girl expertly dodged his blows by ducking at every one; Alice landed a vicious uppercut on his chin to knock him out.

_What the hell is going on?_ Thought Jack as Alice stared down the third man, who produced a knife and lunged at Alice. Intercepting his weapon, Alice turned the weapon back onto the attack, placing the knife in his gut and slashing it swiftly. As the man fell, the fourth pulled out a pistol, aiming the barrel at Alice. The girl slapped the gun out of his hand, and crashed her other hand through his face, knocking the man out cold. The last two stood their ground, fists extended as Alice turned to face them.

"You should have left me alone," raged Alice as she walked towards them, her steps purposeful as she stopped a couple steps away from them, her eyes glaring at them with an unnatural anger. As both men threw their most powerful punches at her, Alice grabbed both fists and twisted them upwards, causing both men to land on their rears. As they struggled to their feet, Alice kicked one of them as hard as she could in the chin, causing the man's neck to break, and back-handed the other man as hard as she could, causing him to fall to the ground, knocked out indefinitely. As Alice looked to the ground, Jack stared on in amazement.

"Who is this girl?" he whispered out loud as Alice suddenly fainted, falling on her back as she lost consciousness. Moving forward out of the shadows carefully, Jack made his way over to Alice, picked up her body, and walked out of the Ally with her in his arms.

…

Her head groggy, Alice's eyes fluttered open as she slowly stood up on the couch she laid on, a blue blanket wrapped around her body. Hearing a hum, Alice looked over the back of the couch to see a man in a white-collared shirt and black slacks in the kitchen making something on the stove. The buttons on his sleeves undone and sleeves rolled up as he stirred a large spoon in a pot, the man looked over towards Alice, his brown hair accentuating his brown eyes perfectly.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake. I was worried about you when I found you in that alley, but it seems like you'll be ok. I'm making you some soup; hope you don't mind," said the man.

"Where am I?" asked Alice, her hands rubbing her cheeks as the man started pouring soup into a bowl.

"You're in my penthouse downtown. I couldn't just leave you out there in the cold, so I brought you back here. You're free to leave as soon as you're up to it," said the man as he walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Alice as he put a spoon in her soup and handed her the bowl. Taking the bowl from him, Alice started eating, her spoonfuls coming at a fairly rapid rate. The man stood up and walked over to his desk, which sat across from his television set. Flipping through some papers, the man looked back at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better," said Alice as she set down the bowl, "I never did catch your name, sir."

"Bruce Wayne."

"Well thank you for rescuing me, Mr. Wayne. I appreciate the help. My name's Alice, Alice Liddell."

"You're welcome. The pleasure was mine, Alice."

"Well, I don't want to ruin a good conversation, but I have to get going back to my own home. Thanks for everything, Mr. Wayne," said Alice as she stood up and walked towards the door.

"Alice," said Bruce as she stopped while opening the door, "please be careful."

"I'll try," Alice said as she walked out the door, closing it behind her. As soon as the door closed, Bruce sat down at his desk, and pulled out a laptop. As soon as his black laptop finished powering up, Bruce entered the password and brought up his Google search engine. Typing _Alice Liddell_ into the search engine, Bruce started pulling up old documents dating back to the 1860s and 1880s. Bruce began to sort out the information in his head.

_So, Alice Liddell was eight years old in 1864, her parents and sister were killed in a fire that burned down their house. After a failed suicide attempt, she was admitted to Rutledge Asylum for the next ten years until one day, she was apparently cured of her insanity. In 1875, she was under the care of a doctor Angus Bumby, who died in an accident at the Moorgate train station. According to these documents, the girl I saw before me was Alice Liddell, but if that's true, then she's over 150 years old! But she looks just like she did in 1875; what is her secret? How was she able to take a gang of hoodlums as easily as she did? What was up with those green eyes? There's something going on here, but where do I start looking for the answers? No, I can't go back to that, no matter how much I want to…_

Bruce shut down his computer for the night, sat down on the couch, and turned the television on, tuned into the local news channel. Bruce watched with half-open eyes as the broadcasters poured over multiple news reports about crimes being committed that day. The anger over injustice began to fill Bruce's mind as he pondered over what the men in the park had to say.

"Batman doesn't exist anymore; I'm just the owner of a restaurant now," Bruce muttered to himself, not feeling very convinced by his own words…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bruce picked his head off the desk table, his eyes downcast as he swiveled in his chair towards the window, his eyes watching the citizens of London as they scurried about their lives, unaware of the tragedies that could befall them at any time.

_Anytime now, an eight year-old child could lose his parents to some criminal with a gun. Anytime now, some psycho wearing makeup can take away someone's loved one and leave them a wreck for the rest of your life. Anytime now, the woman they thought loved them will be the one putting the knife in their gut as their world burns around them. Anytime now, their hero to lead them out of the darkness will reveal his true colors, and he'll be the worst kind of criminal. What hope is there in such a fallen world?_

"You wanted the inventory files, Mr. Payne?" chimed in the voice of Barbara Wilson, Bruce's secretary. Swiveling back towards the door, Bruce looked up towards the attractive blonde, his face masked in a smile as artificial as it was big.

"Yes. Just set them on the desk," Bruce said politely. As Barbara set the items on his desk and turned to leave, Bruce shook his head in admiration of Barbara's beauty. As his secretary wheeled out of the room and closed the door, the smile slowly dropped from Bruce's face as his thoughts turned inward again, words from Rachel, Rhaz Al Guhl, and Harvey swimming in his head.

_To conquer fear, you must become fear; you must bask in the fear of other men, and men fear most what they cannot see._

_ It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you._

_ You have to become a terrible thought, a wraith! You have to become an idea! _

_ Justice is about harmony; revenge is about making yourself feel better_

_ You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain._

_ Feel terror cloud your senses! Feel its power to distort, to control, and know that this power can be yours!_

_ Bruce, don't make me your one hope for a normal life._

_ Embrace your worst fear! Become one with the darkness!_

_ You can't give in!_

Snapping back to reality, Bruce turned back towards his desk, his face in all-business mode as he picked up his phone and dialed a certain number. Putting the phone to his ear, Bruce looked towards the door to his office.

_This is Wayne enterprises; how may I help you?_ Asked the youthful voice of a young woman.

"I'm calling for Lucius Fox," said Bruce.

_He isn't here right now; would you like to leave a message?_

"I'm an old friend of his, and he and I were gonna go on a spelunking trip soon. Just tell him that; he'll know who it is."

_Ok. I'll let Mr. Fox know. Anything else I can do for you?_

"No thank you. Thanks for helping me out, miss," said Bruce as he hung up the phone. Seconds later, Bruce's phone began to ring again.

"Hello?" asked Bruce.

_ It's been a long time, Mr Wayne _said the familiar, soothing voice of Lucius Fox.

"It has. How are things at Wayne Enterprises?"

_They're going pretty good; Our stocks have never been higher, and the city seems to finally be getting out of the rut that it was in back when you were here._

"That's good."

_Now, I don't believe that you would contact me after three years just to see how I was doing; what can I do for you, Mr. Wayne?_

"Well, I've been living in London for three years now, and crime in the streets has been increasing tremendously, more so than usual. I need you to do me a favor."

_What kind of favor?_

"I need you to deliver a truckload of all my gadgets and toys to a warehouse that I use for cold storage here in London. I need everything from my days in Gotham."

_What seems to be the problem in London?_

"I can't tell you over the phone; it's too big to risk anyone overhearing anything. I'll tell you when you get here."

_Fair enough. I'll see you soon, Mr. Wayne._

As Bruce said his goodbye and hung up his phone, Bruce swiveled back towards the window, eyeing the citizens of London with a brand new outlook.

"Now I just have to figure out who is Alice Liddell."

…..

In the heart of downtown London, a group of men, large and muscle-bound, patrolled the perimeter of a large warehouse, a building covering in a dark grey metal with now windows and a select few doorways big enough to slide a couple tanks through. Behind door 13, a single light was on in an otherwise dark room covered in pitch blackness. In the light, Alice could be seen slumped in a chair, her arms tied to the armrests and her legs strapped to the chairs. Her head slumped down, covering her face as her black dress was accentuated by the light hanging overhead.

"Don't be afraid, little girl," whispered a giddy voice from the darkness, no indication of where it came from. Alice stirred in her chair, moaning a bit as her head swayed back and forth, still looking down into her lap.

"I'm not afraid of anything," muttered Alice as her head continued to sway.

"Then take a trip to Wonderland!" screamed the voice, a voice so psychotic that Alice looked up, her eyes green as can be.

…

Alice stared out over the edge of the small waterfall she stood next to, the expanse before her covered with floating masses of brown land in the sky, each mass with a brightly-colored forest on it. Black domino pieces with white dots on them fluttered through the air. Turning back towards the land behind her, Alice's attire had changed considerably; sporting a blue dress with a white apron over it, black and white striped leggings covered her legs, as well as special strap-on black boots with five straps on each boot. Walking through the shallow water, Alice eyed a small series of cliffs leading up to higher ground. Gathering up her power in her legs, Alice leapt up to the first cliff, her body surrounded by a circle of blue butterflies. Upon landing on the green piece of grass and dirt, Alice ran by a small patch of red and baby blue flowers and leapt up a taller cliff, the butterflies trailing around her. From cliff to cliff she went until she reached a high point that lead down a cleared out path. Walking down the grassy path, Alice passed by large bubbles filled with snails and other odd-looking creatures. As quickly as she blinked, a small doll-like creature appeared before Alice several yards down the path, its demented squeal taunting Alice to follow. Breaking out into a sprint, Alice took chase, the forest whizzing by her until she came into a clearing, the doll nowhere in sight. In the center of the clearing, the bones of the Jabberwock sitting in the dirt collecting dust and mold. As Alice walked up to the remains, something began to materialize in front of her eyes. Covered in grey and black stripes, the yellow-eyed critter flashed its yellow teeth in a twisted smile, blood stains covering the tips. Twitching its pointed ears, it eyed Alice up and down.

"Welcome back, Alice," it purred with a honey-like voice.

"I wish I could say I was happy to see you, but whenever I do, nothing good comes of it," Alic e muttered, "By the way, I swear a Doll-child just ran through here. Did you see it?"

"Poor Alice; it seems that you so enjoy reliving the past."

"What are you talking about, cat?"

"You've let the great evil that nearly destroyed Wonderland 150 years ago return with a vengeance; what did we ever do to you? Do you enjoy torturing us so?"

"Cat, if I knew what you were talking about, I wouldn't be asking you questions, would I?"

"You can't let things repeat itself, Alice; Wonderland has been at peace for too long to allow such a force to tear it apart."

"But I destroyed the Doll Maker several years ago; how could he possibly be alive?" asked Alice as a great roar tore throughout the valley, the sky turning from blue to dark red. Trees and mountains started to collapse as a large castle came into view, its walls ablaze with fire.

"You were saying?" asked the cat, a smirk on its face.

"What is the Infernal Train doing here?!"

"It's of your own doing, Alice."

"It's ok; If it's just like last time, I'll find the doll maker and defeat him again."

"Although Wonderland is faced with the same threat, things cannot be handled in the same manner as before."

"I'll have to take your word for it, cat! THE TRAIN IS COMING RIGHT THROUGH HERE!" screamed Alice as she took off, reaching full speed in a few strides. Geysers of black ink burst from the ground all around her; Alice sprinted as fast as possible, turning around when she ran out of breath. Alice turned just in time to see the Infernal Train blow through the area where she and the cat had been talking. Dirt and ink flew everywhere as the train's forward battering ram blew through the environment. Alice's hair whipped behind her from the gusts of wind that came from the passing train…

….

As Alice thrusted violently in her chair, stretching the straps holding her to their limit, the large men from outside came rushing into the room, their bodies covered in grey Kevlar, their rifles at the ready at their hips. As the group of men began to circle around the girl, a voice came out from the shadows.

"What are you doing here?!" it hissed.

"We heard a lot of noise from outside," spoke up one of the men. "We came in to check it out."

"Well, everything is going fine, so go back outside! I'll let you know if I need your assistance."

As the men started filing out of the building, the voice began to emit a low chuckle. A pair of black buckled boots stepped into the light, followed by a pair of green cargo pants. As the man stepped into the light, a green leather jacket, unzipped all the way, fell to his waist, a black shirt underneath it. The man's eyes, black as coal, eyed Alice up and down, the wrinkles in his cheeks becoming more pronounced. Kneeling down behind Alice's chair, the man's tall, green top hat wiggled slightly, a white rectangular card reading _10/6 _sticking out from the band around the rim of the hat.

"Are we ready to have more fun today, Alice?" asked the man, his tone oozing with deception masked by cheer.

"I'm always ready to have fun, Liz," said Alice in a faint voice, her eyes closed tightly as her head swung in a circular motion from chest to shoulder to back to other shoulder, over and over.

"Let's get going then. Now that the train is passed, let's go pick some pig snouts from the Duchess's backyard!"

"Are you sure the train is gone? I can still hear a faint roar in the distance."

"Come on, Alice; don't you trust me? We play together all the time now. When have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Well, ok then, if you say so."

"Ok! What do you say we have a race there? Last one there is a rotten toadstool!"

Working quickly, the man untied all of Alice's restraints, and pressed a button on his wrist device, which rested on a black band. Alice slowly rose to her feet, and opened her eyes, the green pupils screaming bloody murder. As Alice began walking towards the large doorways, the man tapped a different button on his wristband, and lowered his head towards it.

"Open the doors; the girl is on her way."

_Will we be safe from her? You know how she gets_ crackled a voice on the other end from a headpiece inside the man's ear.

"Just don't get in her way, and you'll be as safe as a daisy," said the man as he pressed the button again, cutting off communication. Hearing the loud sounds of the doors opening at the other end of the building, the man pressed yet another button on his wrist, causing a large blue light to appear from the darkness in which the man came from. Stepping into the light, the man put his hand on a metal railing before pressing a button on a large wall pad. The doors closed as the tube in which the man stood began to zoom up at an accelerated rate. Coming to a stop, the buzzing and whirring of several electronic and computer systems reached the man's ears just as the doors slid open, revealing a large laboratory. Computers on the outside and several different tables in the middle, the man strode over to the large wall filled with monitors, slapping his green top hat on a table as he passed it by. His fingers clacking over several buttons, the man saw Alice walking out of the premises.

"Yes, go do my work for me, Alice. You're my little slave, an extension of my will; just do whatever my devices tell you to do, and we'll all sleep soundly at night," said the man as he pressed a few more keys, turning off the monitors, "Now I just have some business to take care of in the day tomorrow…"

…..

Children played in the streets under the light, oblivious of the stare of Bruce as he looked down at the city from his apartment window, his eyes soft like one thinking about another.

_I sure hope Alice is ok. I know her history doesn't make any sense chronologically, but there's a reasonable explanation, right? She just doesn't seem like someone who's over 150 years old_ thought Bruce.

_Don't be so foolish; her history is too unbelievable to be accurate. Something is very wrong here _spoke a darker voice.

_You're still alive? I thought you perished in the explosion outside of Gotham bay._

_ You can never kill me, remember? I'm an everlasting symbol, an indestructible instrument of Justice in this cruel world._

_ You may be, but I don't want to be that person anymore; I faked my death so that I could get out of this lifestyle of vengeance. I wanted to be Bruce Wayne. _

_ You don't want to get out; I can hear your heart bleed over the injustices that have been plaguing London. Do something about it._

_ It's not my job anymore; let someone else do it._

_ There's nobody else who can; we're the only one with the skills and intellect to do this, and we both know that you still have the resources…_

Turning back towards his living room, Bruce staggered to the couch, sitting down slowly as he grabbed the remote, aimed it at the television set, and watched the local news with a blank expression. As the multiple crime stories filled the screen, Bruce felt something stir inside of him.

"I need to get back into shape."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I'm liking where this is going so far; I hope those of you following this story are too. Batman himself is about to make his first appearance in the story, something that I'm really looking forward to writing. Any reviews are helpful. Just a reminder that I don't own anything related to the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy or Alice: Madness Returns.

Chapter 3

Dawn cascaded over downtown London, the dim light giving just enough illumination for the early-risers to see where they were going. Stepping out of the door to his apartment, Bruce, dressed in cross-trainer shoes, grey sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt, jogged in place. Pumping his legs up and down, Bruce jogged off down the sidewalk, running between an elderly woman and man as he took a left at the first intersection. Windows and grey walls whizzed by as Bruce began to pick up speed. Having gone a few blocks, Bruce noticed a group of construction workers tearing up the street and sidewalk ahead.

_Always mind your surroundings_.

Veering right at the intersection, Bruce never broke speed, maintaining his stride as he continued to race through the city on foot. As Bruce ran by the park, young mothers' eyes panned with Bruce's running figure, jaws hanging as their babies screamed and squealed. Old ladies sitting on benches pointed towards Bruce, talking rapidly with each other. As Bruce began to sweat profusely, he stripped off his sweatshirt, revealing a white wife-beater tank top. Wrapped the sweat shirt around his right hand, Bruce continued to run, sweat dripping off his head as his morning run took him onto main street…

…

The air reeked of sweat and blood in the dank facilities of Fighting Knights, a popular local gym in London. Men with biceps bigger than their heads lay on benches, bench-pressing metal bars with several large weights slapped on the ends. Men with six-packs strafed around each other in boxing rings, showering the other with jabs, sweeping blows, and bullets of sweat. Trainers straddled the corners of the ring, stopwatches in hand and barking out orders like a drill sergeant. Other guys leaned back against the grey cement walls in groups of three or four, chatting about whatever gossip was going around. Sliding against a wall, Bruce made his way through the mass of bodies in the gym, his eyes focused on a door at the end of the hallway where the lockers were located, nobody else in the gym apparently paying any attention to him.

_A ninja understands that invisibility is a matter of patience and agility_.

Sitting on a brown wooden bench, Bruce had stripped away his sweatpants, revealing knee-length black athletic shorts. Sliding black grappling gloves onto his hands, Bruce stood tall and closed the open locker door with one hand while sliding the key for it into his pocket. Walking out of the locker room, Bruce walked over to an unoccupied punching bag, and began stretching out his arms and legs. After a while, Bruce started bouncing up and down on his feet, fists cocked as he lined up his body towards the bag, the voice of Raz Al Guhl's teachings playing back in his head.

_You have learned to bury your guilt with anger, but I will teach you to confront it and to face the truth._

Jabbing into the bag with his first punch, Bruce began alternating jabs, working the bag until sweat dripped from his head.

_You know how to fight six men, but we can teach you to engage six hundred. You know how to disappear; we can teach you to become truly invisible._

Bruce stopped for a moment to slip off his shirt, letting it drop to the floor on the side. Rearing back his fists, Bruce start planting power punches into the punching bag, the thuds resonating throughout the gym.

_Your parent's death was not your fault; it was your father's! Your training is nothing; will is everything!_

Crying out in a feral voice, Bruce alternated between jabs, power blows, and sweeping kicks, creating swift, precision combos so powerful that all eyes in the gym were now focused on Bruce's wild tirade.

_You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent._

Swinging through with a large sweeping kick, Bruce tore the punching bag from the ceiling chain on which it hung, leaving the bag in a large, torn-up pile on the ground. Turning towards the crowd, Bruce picked up his shirt and wiped his forehead with it, swinging the shirt over his shoulder as he slowly walked towards the locker room door. The guys in the gym began whispering amongst themselves.

"That man has some real anger issues."

"Forget that; that guy has a mean swing and kick! I wouldn't want to fight him!"

"That guy's been coming here for four days now; that's the second bag that he's destroyed since he's been here."

"Does anybody know who that guy is?"

Back in the Locker room, Bruce was face down on the ground, finishing up his last set of knuckles-only push-ups before rolling onto his butt. Wiping the sweat off his abdominals with his shirt, Bruce stood up and put his shirt back on. Opening his locker, Bruce put his sweatpants and sweatshirt back on before locking up and strolling out of the place.

…..

Two hours later, Bruce found himself sitting in his office, filing through the various financial forms that reflected whether or not the company was making a profit.

_Looks like our sales were down 2.5 percent from the month before, but within expected tolerances. Maybe we just need to have another night of half-off specials…_

"Mr. Payne, Mr. Tetch is here to see you. He has an appointment," Barbara said, her body leaning against the doorway, a hand keeping her upright.

"Indeed he does. Put him at our most secluded spot; I'll be out shortly," said Bruce with a smile. As soon as Barbara left, the smile faded away from Bruce's face, the sound of Tetch's name filling his mind with stress. A hand rubbing his temple, Bruce groaned from the severe displeasure he was about to put himself through. Tidying up the pile of papers on his desk, Bruce stood up and straightened his tie. Walking out of the room, Bruce made his way between tables and around waiters until he saw two men seated in a booth that sat at lower-than-floor level, dimly lit by soft yellow lights. The man in a black suit and shades with the combed-back hair was probably an assistant; the man in the brown three-button suit held Bruce's interest more so than the other man.

"So glad of you to join us, Mr. Payne," said the man in the brown suit, his thin arm raised in a toast, his wine glass half-full.

"Well, I always try to please my visitors when I can, Jervis," said Bruce with a forced smile as he took a chair from a nearby table and put himself at the head of the table, the back of his chair facing the rest of the restaurant. Jervis squared his body up towards Bruce, placing his arms on the table in front of him, his face plastered with a goofy grin that offset his shaggy red hair.

"How's business been treating you?"

"Pretty good; business is slightly down from a month ago, but it was expected since it's that time of year again. It'll probably pick right back up soon."

"I'm glad business is going well for you, Mr. Payne."

"So, what brings you here tonight, Mr. Tetch? I doubt an important man of your stature would come down here just to share a meal with me," asked Bruce in an inquiring tone.

"You do know what I do for a living, right Mr. Payne?"

"Yes. You run the Tetch Corporation, Europe's leader in electronic technologies. You guys do everything from cell phones and computers to military technology.

"Very observant, you are. Well, as I'm sure you might have heard, I'm looking to expand my company, to give the people more access to the wonderful products that we make for them. I've got an offer for you that you'll find attractive."

"Sounds interesting; what's the offer?"

"I've noticed that your restaurant is in an ideal spot here in London, a spot that my analysts tell me could bring in a rather large profit. Now, nobody likes losing a business with no compensation, so my proposal is this: If you sell your restaurant property to the Tetch Corporation, I'll give you the manager position over this store. You'd make at least three times what you're making here, and your hours and daily routine wouldn't change much from what you're doing now. What do you say?"

Bruce's eyes widened at the offer, then looked down in his lap. After a moment, Bruce's eyes lifted back up to face Jervis, his eyes fiery while the rest of his face masked by a smile.

"That is a tremendous offer, Mr. Tetch, it really is, but I really love the restaurant business. It's never been about money to me; I just enjoy the whole atmosphere of a nice, cozy restaurant, and being able to interact with all my employees whenever I want. I'm sure there are plenty of other guys in the area of my restaurant who'd be willing to sacrifice their businesses to take you up on your offer; I'm just not that guy."

Jervis's face lit up red like a Christmas light as Bruce imagined the steam coming out of his ears. Veins bulging, Jervis recovered and put on the mask of a respectable businessman.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Payne, but I understand. If you happen to change your mind, you know where to find me."

"To show that there are no hard feelings, your meal will be on the house. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Tetch; I have some business I need to attend to," said Bruce as he scooted out from his chair, stood up, and walked back to his office. Jervis leaned in towards his assistant, making sure that Bruce was out of earshot.

"I guess Mr. Payne needs to learn the hard way who he's dealing with. Send the guys over here tonight."

"Yes, Mr. Tetch," said the man as a waitress came over with the meal that they had ordered before Bruce's visit. Jervis blessed the waitress with compliments as she sat down a plate containing sizzling steak, steamy potatoes, and golden corn; Jervis's assistant received a plate with a large cheeseburger and fries on the side. As Jervis digged into his plate of food, a wicked smile filled his face.

_I'll make that little man pay for refusing my offer. He could have been part of my rising empire, but no, he just had to stick to his guns and follow his wants and desires; he'll pay the price for that. I'm willing to bet all my employees salaries that he'll cave once the boys put a little pressure on him with their brawn…_

Back in the office, Bruce sat in his chair, unable to stop replaying his conversation with Tetch over and over.

"I got a bad feeling about this," whispered Bruce to himself. At that moment, a buzz could be felt against his hip; reaching into his pocket, Bruce pulled out his cell phone, a text message from an unknown phone having just been received. Flipping open the phone, Bruce read the message.

_It's fox; Just arrived in London. I have your equipment. Where do we meet?_

Bruce's fingers flew fast as he typed a response up.

_Walden's Storage Facilities. It's on Harriet Avenue; you can't miss it. Be there at 8 pm._

Sending the message, Bruce put his phone back in his pocket, snatched up his coat from the wooden hanger by his door, and put it on as he exited the office. Locking up his door, Bruce walked into the main part of the restaurant, looking to see if Jervis and his assistant were still there. Not seeing them at their booth, Bruce made his way out of the restaurant and into the night sky.

….

The pale moonlight glassed the street with its streaming rays, the shadows of the alleyways becoming more pronounced. Street lamps filled up Harriet Avenue, leaving no part of the street under a dark shroud. Not that there was any problem with crime on this night; Harriet Avenue was devoid of other citizens, much to Bruce's pleasure. Dressed in denim jeans and a black leather jacket, Bruce leaned against the chain-link metal fence that surrounded the property which Walden's Storage Facilites resided. To his left, the gate with the electronic lock resided. Hearing the screeching of tires, Bruce looked up to see a big-rig semi-truck pull up to where he was hanging out. The driver's door opened, revealing a man with a large hooded jacket on, the hood hiding his face. The man walked up to Bruce, looked around, then looked Bruce in the eye, taking down his hood as Bruce got off the fence and let his arms drop to his sides.

"It's good to see you again, Mr. Fox. You have any trouble finding this place?" asked Bruce with relief in his voice, pleased to see Lucius.

"It's good to see you again too, Mr. Wayne. I assume that's not your alias these days," said Fox with his usual playful tone.

"Jack Payne. I run a restaurant off Main Street called Adrian's."

"Very nice; I take it you're not rolling in the dough like you used to."

"Well, considering the business I'm in, I make pretty good money. But yes, it's nowhere near what I was making in Gotham."

"It's good to hear that you're doing well, Mr. Wayne, but I think we should get this stuff put away before someone sees us."

Turning towards the gate, Bruce walked up to the number bar and quickly typed in the code as Fox ran over to his truck and hopped in. After the gate slid open, Bruce jogged down the middle isle of the isles of storage facilities, traveling twenty yards before stopping in front of a warehouse door with the number 23 in red on the side. Next to the garage-type door was a little white door with a metal handle. As Mr. Fox's semi pulled in front of the door, Bruce opened the smaller door, and flipped on a light switch, revealing a large, open room with a large, brown cabinet against one wall, and a white folding table with some boxes under it against another. Pressing a white button next to the light switch, the bigger door slide open, allowing Fox to reverse the back end of his semi into the facility, blocking the outside view. Before he knew it, Fox came in through the smaller door, closing it behind him as he stood next to Bruce, a smile on his face.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" asked Fox as Bruce smiled, his head shaking as Fox opened up the back of his Semi and hopped in. Fox began sliding out boxes to the end of the truck, and Bruce opened up the first box, seeing rows of small explosives and smoke pellets in it.

"Did you bring everything I requested?" asked Bruce.

"I certainly did, Mr. Wayne. You'll find smoke pellets, explosives, listening devices, your grapple guns, scanners, containers, hacking devices, everything else you had when you were in Gotham. I also brought some of the computer systems so that you could have access to the information that you need. I have a surprise for you too."

"And we both know how I just love surprises," joked Bruce with a smile as he heard Fox scoot something large around in the back of his semi. Hearing the sound of rolling tires, Bruce's eyes widened as he saw the Batpod getting wheeled out.

"Your friend Selina returned it to me shortly after you disappeared from Gotham, said she didn't feel like keeping it, called it a donation in honor of your memory."

"Well, it certainly helps to have that available to me now. Since you've done that for me, I've got a surprise to show you."

"For me? That's mighty generous of you, Mr. Wayne," said Fox as he climbed down from the truck and followed Bruce towards the cabinet against the wall. When both men stopped in front of it, Bruce reached up with both hands and opened it, the contents causing Fox's eyes to widen in surprise.

"Wow," uttered Fox as full-body suit of Kevlar armor sat on a hanger before him, a large bat symbol filling up most of the chest. Below on the ground of the cabinet rested a pair of black boots. On the shelf where the suit hanged from, a folded-up black cape and black gauntlets with one row of spikes on it lay harmlessly. Between the two items, the cowl of Batman sat like the crown of a king, if that crown had a bottom that covered up the wearer's entire neck and shoulder bases.

"Impressive, isn't it?" asked Bruce, whose gaze was held on the suit as well, his eyes traveling down memory lane.

"You kept the original Batsuit? I didn't think you'd do something so…"

"Nostalgic, I know. I just wanted to remember my roots one day, and I couldn't bear to get rid of it."

"What happened to the newer suit?"

"Over there," said Bruce as he closed up the cabinet and nudged towards the boxes under the table.

"I see. What do you say we finish unloading everything before we relive ancient history?" replied Mr. Fox as he turned back towards the truck…

….

What was once a mostly empty storage room had become a miniature headquarters for Bruce. In the area between the cabinet and the table were all the boxes containing Bruce's batman armor. Underneath the table were boxes of power tools and scientific analysis equipment, as well as modern medical equipment; on the table itself lay a golden metal belt with golden compartments going all around it. In the corner opposite of Bruce's armor suit was an advanced computer system that took up the whole wall, a black swivel chair sitting in front of a complex-looking keyboard. Additional machines filled up the wall leading towards the door, and a table set out a few feet away from those machines. In the open space closer to the cabinet and original table sat the Batpod, in pristine condition and ready to roll. Bruce and Mr. Fox stood in front of the now-empty rear of the truck.

"So, why did you have me bring you all of this to London?" asked Mr. Fox, his face smooth and unflinching as stone.

"Well crime rate in this city has been rising for a while, but there are two big things that make me worry."

"Which are?"

"Have you heard of the Tetch Corporation?"

"I read about it on the flight over. What about it?"

"Their owner, Jervis Tetch, came to my restaurant today wanting me to shut down my restaurant and give the property over to him; in return, he was gonna triple my pay and make me manager over whatever he built there."

"Sounds like a pretty good offer to me."

"It was, but I love running a restaurant too much, so I told him now. I noticed his temper flare up, just like all the mobsters in Gotham back in my day. I just have this bad feeling that he's gonna do whatever it takes to make me give in, legal or not."

"I can understand that, Mr Wayne, but you called me four days ago; that was not a problem back then."

"Which brings me to my other point: I met this girl named Alice."

"Of course…" said Mr. Fox with a smirk.

"On the outside, she looks like a beautiful 19-year old, but when I looked her up online and her records, those documents has her listed as being over 150 years old. Apparently, back in the late 1800s, she was a patient at Rutledge Asylum after her entire family was murdered in a tragic fire."

"That is strange."

"Not only that, the first time I met her was in an alley where she was being jumped by a gang of thugs. Just before I was about to step in, She unleashed a storm like I've never seen before; I have no idea where she could have learned how to fight like she did. Right before she pounced all over them, I saw her eyes turn green, almost like she had super powers."

"How do you keep finding people like this?"

"I wish I knew. Do you have any advice on how I should approach this?"

Mr. Fox paused for a second, his eyes wandering elsewhere as he processed all the information.

"First off, Mr. Wayne, I'd go check out your restaurant to make sure it's physically safe tonight. I won't be able to try their food if there's no restaurant to go to."

"Well now, we can't have that, can we?"

"As far as your girl troubles, Do what you used to do; shadow her and figure out everything you can about her."

"Ok."

"I shouldn't have to tell you anything about how to do your nightly escapades, Mr. Wayne. You're the best there ever was, and you clearly still have a fire in you. Let it rise once again."

"Thanks, Mr. Fox."

"I'll come by your restaurant sometime, ok?"

"I'll be looking forward to it," said Bruce with a wink and a smile. Mr. Fox returned the gesture, and headed back to his truck. Moments later, the truck and Mr. Fox was gone, and Bruce was in an enclosed space with all of his toys back in his possession…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A bearded black man, dressed up in a black leather jacket and black pants, tugged on his black skull cap as he looked around the corner of the local convenience store, his eyes fixated on the front of Bruce's restaurant.

"You guys ready to do this?" asked the man as he turned his head back to the rest of his team. A man with flowing blonde hair and a scruff on his face, dressed in all black as well, pulled a cigarette out of his mouth.

"When am I not, Bob?" asked the man, a scowl on his face. "Why the hell does our boss have us trashing some restaurant? We've got bigger things to worry about."

"We'll do what we came here to do, Julius," said Bob in a stern voice, just before turning his attention to a figure behind Julius. "Are you ready, Lea?"

Lea, a tall woman dressed in a black full-body motorcycle suit, sporting a brown medium-length ponytail, leaned against the wall, her arms crossed and a sexy smirk on her face.

"You know I am, Bob; just another day in the office."

"That reminds me, while we're tearing down the place, we gotta give Payne's office the biggest trashing; boss's orders."

"I gotta admit: it's kinda weird that he wants us to trash up a place like this. It's just some little restaurant."

"We don't have the privilege of questioning the boss; if he wants something done, we do it. If we don't, we're out of a job…"

Up on the rooftops overlooking the street, a black figure looked down from the shadows. A pair of binoculars in his gloved hands, it watched through a green infrared screen as the group of thugs continued to talk and eyeball the restaurant. Putting away the binoculars, the figure tapped his right ear, activating a listening device to overhear the conversation.

_Let's go around the back alley; we can sneak in from the rear, where there's probably not as much security._

Tapping the device again, the figure rose and raced along the rooftops, keeping up with the group of thugs as they raced down the cold, wet cement of the alley and tried to bang open the metal door in the back. Bob began working on the door with a lock pick as Lea and Julius kept an eye out. Pulling out a small metal sphere, the figure tossed it into the group, a large cloud of smoke enveloping the group. Leaping from the rooftops, the figure's cape expanded and hardened into the shape of bat wings, allowing the figure to land on the ground, his eyes facing towards the ground. As the smoke dissipated, the figure slowly rose to full height, heart-numbing fear showing on the faces of Bruce, Julius, and Lea. The figure wore a black armor suit, the seemingly random lines on his armor showing the separation of metal armor plates. A yellow, metallic belt full of compartments went around the figure's waste, and its face was covered by an armor neck-protector and a black cowl with short pointed ears. A bat symbol could be clearly seen in the middle of the chest piece.

"What are you?!" cried out Julius as he took a step back. Lea's whole body trembled in fear as Bob frowned, his face covered in sweat bullets. The figure's face contorted in anger, the lines of his face seeking pain as he raised his fists up to chest height. Julius leapt forward and took a swing with his right arm, but the figure blocked the blow with his left arm, revealing shiny black gauntlets with two rows of three spikes on it. The figure grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand, grabbed it again with his left hand, and swung Julius end over end. As Julius landed on the ground, Lea charged forward like a blur, a knife appearing from nowhere into her hand. The figure intercepted the knife hand, and gave Lea a push on her way by, using her momentum to slam her into the brick wall behind the figure; Lea's body slumped to the ground.

"You're gonna pay for that, Freak!" raged Julius as he scrambled to his feet and threw a myriad of punches and kicks at the dark figure. Dodging Julius's amateur moves with the short, smooth motions of a ninja, the figure stopped Julius in his tracks with a hard right to his gut. While Julius gasped for air, the figure did a right-left combo into Julius's gut, cracked him in the chin with a right uppercut, and smashed his left foot through Julius's abdomen. As Julius fell to the ground unconscious, the figure turned his gaze to Bob, who still stood where he was, his eyes widened and legs trembling. The figure strode over to Bob and grabbed him by the throat with his right hand, slamming Bob against the door.

"What the hell are you?" Bob whispered, fear crippling his voice.

"I'm Batman," growled Batman as he pressed Bob against the door, his right gauntlet spikes against the man's throat. The man's eyes widened even more so.

"YOU'RE REAL?!"

"You're going to give me some information, or I'm going to share my pain with you like I did your friends behind me."

"I can't…"

"You will!" raged Bruce as he punched the door with his left hand as hard as he could, making it rattle as the fist landed as close to Bob's face as humanly possible.

"Ok ok! I'll talk! We were told to come here and trash this restaurant!"

"Who are you working for?!"

"I don't know!"

"LIAR!"

"OK OK! He calls himself the Mad Hatter; he's some kind of mind control freak! He put us onto this job."

"What was the job?"

"To thrash this restaurant behind me."

"Who thrashes a little restaurant like this?!"

"I don't know why he wants this place taken down; all I know is that he does."

"LIAR!"

"NO! I SWEAR IT'S THE TRUTH!"

"Don't let me find you out here again."

Batman slammed Bob's head off the door with one move. As Bob fell to the ground, Batman raced back to the spot he landed and pulled out a grapnel gun and fired towards the rooftops. Swooshing away like the wind, Bob could only stare and watch while Lea and Julius came to. Fumbling around with his pockets, Bob pulled out a grey cell phone from his pockets, his finger pressing a single key as he pressed the device into his ear.

"It was no good, boss. We couldn't do it."

_Why the hell not?!_ Cracked the Mad Hatter's voice.

"We were jumped by some kind of monster."

_A monster you say?_

"Yeah, we were about to break into the restaurant when we were suddenly in a large cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, this black demon stood before us. He had horns on the top of his head, and had wings that spanned at least 20 feet. It knocked out my partners in mere seconds, and it was all over me, pressing me for information."

_Did you tell him anything?_

"He forced me to talk about you. All I told him was your name; I didn't say anything else, I swear!"

_I see. What else should I know?_

"It had a name: Batman."

_Batman?!_

"You know him?"

_If you had kept up with current events in America over the past decade, you would have known his name too. Just get back here on the double; it looks like we have a Bat to contend with…_

…

Batman raced across the rooftops of downtown London, his cape flowing with the wind as his feet pounded on the cement beneath his feet. Eying a gargoyle on top of a church, Batman pulled out his Grapnel gun, aimed at the mouth of the gargoyle, and fired. Feeling his hook secure itself through the line, Batman pressed a button on his gun, the wind rushing against his face as he zipped up the line at an accelerated rate. Reaching out with his other hand, Batman grabbed the gargoyle and swung himself over its head, straddling it as he unhooked his grapnel gun from the statue and stuck it in his belt. Looking down into the streets below, Batman tapped his left ear, causing white screens to go over his eyes. His vision filled with green and numbers, the people in Batman's vision glowed in all kinds of warm colors as the Dark Knight tapped his right ear, audio feeds from all over the city filtering into his ear.

"So many people," muttered Batman as certain frequencies caught his ears.

_Lock the door, Evlyn! That crazy girl is walking through the streets again!_

_ Dude, that black-haired girl is crazy! What is she swinging her arms at?_

_ That poor girl Alice is at it again, Dan! Let's get indoors!_

Taping his right ear, Batman leapt off the gargoyle, his hands gripping his cape as he felt electricity transfer from his hands to the cape, the molecules becoming rigid as they created the shape of bat wings. Gliding towards the ground below, Batman pulled up, causing the civilians below him to gawk. Some fell on their butts, while others' jaws hung to their feet. Some whispered unintelligible words, while others screeched and screamed at the monster that flew over their heads. As he neared the rooftop of Dudley's homeless home, Batman deactivated the electric current in his cape, allowing him to fall and land on his feet, his face pointed down towards his feet, his cape all over the ground beneath him. As Batman rose slowly, his cape sucked up to his sides, like a big shadow.

_That initial report about Alice came from around here_ thought Batman as he looked around, only children out on the streets below him. Walking around the edge of the building, Batman found a group of small children playing in a back lot; a boy, dressed up in tan shorts and a black suit-jacket, was playing with a blonde-haired girl, dressed simply in a pink dress and shoes. Two other boys, looking to be maybe a couple years older due to more physical maturation in their faces, eyed the other two children, snickering to each other in conversation. Batman tapped his right ear as he continued to analyze the scene below him.

_You think Alice will come back this time?_ Asked one of the boys, whose hair was brown as can be.

_She always comes back; I feel sorry for the poor girl_ said the tan-haired boy standing next to him.

_Remember when she came by here a few days ago? _

_ Yeah. Makes you wish you could help her, but nothing can be done._

Tapping his right ear, Batman grabbed the edges of his cape and launched himself off the edge of the building, rolling onto the ground and between the two older boys. As the Dark Knight rolled onto his feet, he slowly raised his head to face the children, his mouth in a straight line as the rest of his body remained covered by his cape.

"Did Alice come through here just now?" asked Batman. Both boys took a couple steps back.

"We don't…" stammered the brown-haired boy. In a flash, Batman towered over the two boys, his eyed threatening to devour their souls.

"No games! You're going to tell me what I want to know. Now, where's Alice?"

"Please don't hurt us," the tan-haired squealed, "She came by the front door just a few minutes ago, swinging at Ghosts and the like."

"Where did she go?"

"She went down Rodgers," said the tan-haired boy as he looked back towards the two smaller children by the door. When he turned back, Batman was there no longer, the wind blowing through where he had once stood…

…

Alice's head turned to and fro, on alert for any more Insidious Ruin. Alice moved through the Veil of Tears, stepping over mushrooms and pushing back the overhead brush. A blood stained knife in hand, Alice heard a grunt from over her shoulder. Pivoting backwards, Alice planted the Vorpal Blade into the exposed skull of an Insidious Ruin, its inky corpse hitting the ground with a thud before dissipating into nothingness. Three more Insidious Ruin popped out of the ground around Alice, her head lowered to the ground as the monsters around her materialized, growling and groaning as the Vorpal Blade tapped against Alice's leg. Looking up, Alice's blade slashed out wildly, cutting through the throats of her enemies. As the Insidious Ruin around her fell, Alice heard several sounds behind her, looking back, a small army of Insidious Ruin and Colossal Ruin rumbled towards Alice. Taking the opportunity, Alice took off…

….

High above in the shadows, Batman crouched on the edge of the rooftop overlook Rodgers street, his dark gaze capturing Alice's shrieking form. Watching as Alice swung wildly at whatever invisible foes surrounded her, the Dark Knight slowly rose to his feet, his hand grabbing hold of the edges of his cape.

_I've got to figure out what's going on with Alice_ thought Batman as the molecules in his cape became rigid and he stepped off the edge, gliding towards the ground below. Landing behind Alice, Batman slowly rose to full height, his cape wrapped around him completely, covering his entire body from head to toe. As Alice slowly turned around, her green eyes bugged out in horror.

"NOOOOOOO!" screamed Alice as she raised her hands in self-defense. Showing no signs of concern about Alice's reaction, Batman continued to stare into the eyes of the girl.

"I'm here to help," Said Batman in a grisly tone of voice. Alice continued to back up, apparently not assured by his words.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU DARK MONSTROSITY!

"Alice, let me help…" started Batman when Alice raised her right hand and swung down at him. Taking a step back to dodge the move, Batman began to circle around Alice as she began to size him up, the fear that was once in her eyes completely gone.

"You can't help me! You're here to kill me!" screamed Alice as she lunged at Batman. To the Dark Knight's surprise, Alice fought expertly; her hands and feet moving sharply and speedily, Batman found he was unable to do more than block her attacks with his forearms and knees. One of Alice's attacks broke through, a fist cracking Batman in the cheek. As Batman fell on his back, Alice pounced onto him, screeching and tearing at him like an animal. Keeping Alice at bay, Batman placed his feet under Alice's and pushed hard, kicking the girl off as he leapt back to his feet.

"I don't want to fight you," growled Batman, his face masked by the snarl shared with many a lowlife in his time. As Alice came rushing towards him again, Batman slipped a smoke pellet out of his belt, and slammed it into the ground between him and Alice. As Alice covered her eyes and mouth, coughing violently, Batman raised his grapnel gun towards the rooftops and flew off. By the time the smoke cleared, Alice was left looking for Ghosts where Batman once was…

…

The roar of the Bat pod could be heard as the big door to Warehouse room 23 slid open. Moments later, Batman slid off the parked Bat Pod and closed the door to his warehouse room. The dark night then strolled over to the table by the cabinet and took off his mask, setting it down on the table. As Bruce took off the rest of his armor and put it away in the appropriate boxes, his thoughts began to turn towards Alice as he grabbed a towel off the table to wipe off his shoulders with.

_Alice treated me like I was some kind of monster _thought Bruce as he walked over towards his computer monitors on the other side of the room. _I know that the point of Batman is to invoke fear from people, but she was way beyond terrified of me. Her eyes were green like before; maybe she doesn't see me for what I really am? _

Sitting down in his swivel chair, Bruce turned towards the monitors, the screens filling with various news channels and websites. Pulling up a blue mug filled with coffee, Bruce sipped on the stale liquid as his eyes glossed over the screens.

"I guess Bruce Wayne will have to convince Alice to trust the Batman…"


End file.
